More Hip Than Hippie #88 - Eat Green, Save Green

Since Dori is a new vegetarian (with four kids to support!), we'll be talking about how to eat organic without going broke. It IS possible, and we'll tell you how!

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: Mackeson XXX Stout from Whitbread Beer Company in London, England.

Chocolate: Wow Wee Maui dark chocolate with Hawaiian coconut.

Hip News and Finds

Finds:

• What Cheese are you? Check out this site where you enter your name and it tells you what kind of cheese you are!
• More Hip Contest! Create the design that will be on the official More Hip Than Hippie Chico Bag!
  • Design must use only one color.
  • Design should be suitable for men and women to use.
  • The winner will receive 20 chico bags with their design on it!
  • The deadline for entries is March 31, 2007.
  • Email your submissions to hip@greenfeet.com.

News:

• Whole Foods to buy Wild Oats. The deal, estimated at $565 million, will allow Whole Foods to compete better with larger traditional grocers which are encroaching into the organic and prepared foods niches.
• Half-ton squid caught in New Zealand. A squid weighing an estimated 990 pounds and 39 feet long took two hours to reel in by a fishing crew in Antarctic waters.
• Faux Paw An investigation conducted by the Humane Society has discovered fur from domestic dogs in the fur trim of jackets, that were labeled as 'faux fur'. Some of the jackets included were from designer labels such as Andrew Marc and Tommy Hilfiger.
• Go Green, Get Rich. Problem number 3: Hunger and malnutrition.

More Hip Book Club

Discussion is open in the MHTH forum for our second book, Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

How to eat healthy without going broke

Listen in for tips on eating healthy on a budget!

Listener Emails

Once again, we have a bunch of great listener emails. Keep 'em rolling in at hip@greenfeet.com. And don't forget to post articles, links, and speak your mind at our MHTH forum!

• Wash your plastic bags in the dishwasher. Cat discovered a cool product called the Bag-E-Wash that allows you to wash quart and gallon sized plastic bags in your dishwasher. One box of 30 gallon-size bags washed with Bag-E-Wash and reused 50 times each saves $150.00 and keeps 1,500 bags out of the landfills. Thanks Cat!
• Aussies ban standard bulbs. Kristi sent us an article about how Australia will phase out standard light bulbs over the next three years.
• Ikea starts new plastic bag initiative. Doug found out that starting March 15 Ikea will charge customers 5 cents per plastic bag and urge the purchase of reusable bags. It's a great effort to reduce plastic bag waste - lets hope more companies follow suit!
• What's Up Kids? Leanne is a yoga instructor in Canada and discovered a great family magazine called What's Up Kids. It has lots of articles about fighting global warming, family nutrition, and how to get your family to be more physically active.
• Karen wanted to recommend Domino magazine to all the other listeners. It's got tons of information about living with green style.
• Green Chemistry. Phil heard the show about green science and wanted to let us know about green chemistry. In fact, he's been working on his Ph.D. at the Centre for Green Chemistry in Melbourne, Australia. Check out the EPA's website for the 12 principles of Green Chemistry.
• Cancer-causing chemical found in children's bath products. Jennifer wanted to let us know about the recent discovery of 1,4-Dioxane, a carcinogen, in dozens of children's bath products, including Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Johnson's Baby Wash, and Sesame Street Bubble Bath.
• Vegetarians saving the world. Laura wanted to pass along an article about how not eating meat can save the planet. It's on page 20 of Natural Awakenings online magazine.
• Minnesota sets renewable energy standard. Loree wanted to let us know about the new renewable energy requirements signed by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Part of Pawlenty's Next Generation Energy Initiative, it sets a renewable energy requirement of 25% by 2025.
• Barb lives in a community that has greenbelts and loves it! Check out some pictures of her town, Kingwood, Texas.
• Sven recommends Extra Pale Ale from Summit Brewing Company.

Email us at hip@greenfeet.com. Don't forget to vote for us at podcastalley.com and podcastpickle.com. Send us a voice message at our Skype address "morehip" or +1 530.554.2605. Don't have Skype? Get it - it's free!

More Hip Than Hippie #87 - Green Science

We've all been there before. It's dissection day in Biology class and as you walk into the brightly lit lab you can't help but notice the overwhelming smell of formaldehyde. It's practically an adolescent rite of passage. Whether it was a worm, fetal pig, or frog, dissection has long been considered an integral part of grammar school education. But does dissection do more harm than good? Find out as Dori and Val explore the impact of classroom dissections on the environment.

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: Train Wreck Organic with a whopping 10.6% ABV from Butte Creek Brewing Company here in Chico, CA.
Chocolate: Shaman's Heart organic dark chocolate with ruby raspberries from Shaman Chocolates.

Hip News and Finds

Finds:

• More Hip Contest! Create the design that will be on the official More Hip Than Hippie Chico Bag!
  • Design must use only one color.
  • Design should be suitable for men and women to use.
  • The winner will receive 20 chico bags with their design on it!
  • The deadline for entries is March 31, 2007.
  • Email your submissions to hip@greenfeet.com.
• This Old Green House. "This Old House" has begun its first-ever green renovation in Austin, Texas. Get a sneak peak of the house and check your local listings to catch the show when it airs on PBS.

News:

• Would you like some lead with your lunch? When the government tested 60 soft, vinyl lunch boxes, they found one in five contained hazardous levels of lead, but neglected to tell the public. Buy these lead-free food storage containers at Greenfeet.com:
  • To-Go Ware Stainless Steel Lunch Box
  • Glass Storage Dishes
• A win for industrial hemp. North Dakota has issued the first U.S. industrial hemp licenses.

 

More Hip Book Club

Discussion is open in the MHTH forum for our second book, Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

Classroom Dissections and the Environment
For more information about classroom dissections and alternatives, check out these sites:

• About.com - Dissection and the environment.
• National Science Teachers Association.
• TeachKind.org - resource list of alternatives to dissection.

Listener Emails

Once again, we have a bunch of great listener emails. Keep 'em rolling in at hip@greenfeet.com. And don't forget to post articles, links, and speak your mind at our MHTH forum!

• A new take on SUV design. Patrick found an interesting take on the SUV vs. the environmentalist in this comic.
• Beth was wondering if was paper is a good alternative to plastic when it comes to food storage. It is! Check out the wax paper and wax paper bags available at Greenfeet.com.
• Steve really liked episode # 85 about greenbelts. Why? Because he is an environmental planner in Pennsylvania! He recommends these sites for those interested in joining the greenbelt movement where they live:
  • Pennsylvania's Greenways Clearinghouse
  • Planning.org
  • Planetizen.com
  • Cyburbia.org
• Colin and his seven year-old son Carrick decided to enter the Convenient Truths video contest. Check out their submission "A Kid, a Car, and an Idea!".

Email us at hip@greenfeet.com. Don't forget to vote for us at podcastalley.com and podcastpickle.com. Send us a voice message at our Skype address "morehip" or +1 530.554.2605. Don't have Skype ? Get it - it's free!

More Hip Than Hippie #86 - Be The Cause

Dori and Val are chatting with Max and Benn of our local Chico, CA environmental group The Cause. Learn how these dedicated students are making big changes in the community and shining the spotlight on sustainability.

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: Sunshine Wheat from New Belgium Brewery.

Chocolate: Dark Chocolate 70% with orange from Valor Chocolates.

Hip News and Finds Finds:

• Eat healthy, eat wild. EatWild.com is a terrific source for finding safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, bison, goats, pork, poultry, and dairy products. The site will help you find a pasture-based farm near you.
• How well do you know your chocolate? Take the Chocolate IQ Test to find out!
• More Hip Contest! Create the design that will be on the official More Hip Than Hippie Chico Bag! It must use only one color and be suitable for men and women to use. Email your submissions to hip@greenfeet.com before March 31, 2007 to enter. The winner will receive 20 chico bags with their design on it!

News:

• Go Green, Get Rich. Problem 2: Oil Dependency. Find out how some companies tackling the world's dependency on oil and making a profit at the same time.
• Branson ups the anty on climate change. Richard Branson is offering a $25M prize to whoever can devise an efficient and effective method of fighting global warming.
• China shoots for the moon. The Chinese space program is hoping to find an endless supply of clean, safe energy on the moon.
• Call to action. Senator Barbara Boxer is seeking your opinion to help set a new agenda in Washington. She's asking you to rank your concerns for global warming and give your ideas on how to solve the problem.

More Hip Book Club

Pretty soon we'll be starting our second book, Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

Be The Cause

Max and Benn are Chico State students who think big. They started the group The Cause to help focus community attention on sustainable practices.

The Big Bike Ride
Max, Benn, and four other students will ride their bikes 385 miles from Chico, CA to Eugene, OR to attend the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. Along the way, the group plans to stop at schools, coffee shops, and other gathering spots to teach children and communities about the importance of sustainability.

If you would like to help this dedicated group of students, they are collecting spare bike parts and other supplies to make the trip successful. Check out their website at Be-the-cause.org

Listener Emails

Once again, we have a bunch of great listener emails. Keep 'em rolling in at hip@greenfeet.com. And don't forget to post articles, links, and speak your mind at our MHTH forum!

• Shout out! Check out The Mommy Spot, a blog focused on raising babies the natural way.
• Break the addiction. Alison wanted to let us know about thinkMTV. It's a campaign from MTV that urges viewers to do their part for the environment.
• Help save the polar bears. Shanti wanted to spread the word about a call to action to save the polar bears. Send a message directly to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging them to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.
• Breaking down photodegradation. Eileen wanted to clarify what 'photodegrade' means so that women like her can make the case against plastic to their husbands! Thanks Eileen!
• Are you a friend of Al? Meredith is and proud of it! She found an awesome tote from handbag designers Hayden-Harnett that will display your fondness for Mr. Gore and the environment! It's a little pricey at $55, but worth every penny since $25 goes to global warming charities and $10 goes to plant ten trees.

Email us at hip@greenfeet.com. Don't forget to vote for us at podcastalley.com and podcastpickle.com. Send us a voice message at our Skype address "morehip" or +1 530.554.2605. Don't have Skype ? Get it - it's free!

More Hip Than Hippie # 85 - Fasten Your Greenbelts

Go Greenbelts! Not the kind you wear, the kind around urban areas! Greenbelts are areas of open space around cities that provide a barrier to sprawl and give you a place to get some fresh air. Dori and Val give you the low down on why they are important and what you can do to join the movement!

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: USDA certified organic Stone Mill Pale Ale from Green Valley Brewing.

Chocolate: 61% Santa Catarina from Seeds of Change.
Hip News and Finds
Finds:

• More Hip T-shirts available for purchase! Order yours today!
• Order your organic bouquet from By Nature. London based company By Nature announced the launch of their organic flower delivery service.

News:

• Divestment campaign moves into US mutual funds. Activists are urging mutual funds to stop investing in Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed as a result of a brutal genocide in Darfur.
• Go with the wind. Airtricity, a Dublin based wind developer, announced plans for a European supergrid that will be a network of over 2,000 off shore wind turbines in the North Atlantic.
• Going green brings big profits. The business community is finding opportunities to create profit while attempting to solve the world's biggest pollution problems.
• Shining the spotlight on CFL's. California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has introduced the "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" that would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012.
• Go Gore! Vice President Al Gore has earned a nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work drawing attention to the problem of global warming. We're pulling for you, Al!

More Hip Book Club

 

Pretty soon we'll be starting our second book, Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

Greenbelts

Get your Greenbelt on! Greenbelts are a lot more than just open space. They give city dwellers a place to enjoy nature, help limit urban sprawl, offset global warming, and may lead to world peace. Learn more at:

• What Good are Greenbelts?
• The Greenbelt Alliance
• The Green Belt Movement
• Urban Growth Boundaries Fact Sheet

 

Listener Emails

Once again, we have a bunch of great listener emails. Keep 'em rolling in at hip@greenfeet.com. And don't forget to post articles, links, and speak your mind at our MHTH forum!

• Tom bought himself a pack of the Japanese toilet paper made from recycled juice cartons. He sent us some pics so we could see how soft it was!
• New listener Beth is interested in learning more about essential oils. Val recommends Aromatherapy for Dummies and the Encyclopedia of Essential Oils.
• Eat healthy, eat organic. Heather discovered Mighty Foods, a blog about natural and organic foods. She also recommends checking out the 100 mile diet. The idea behind this diet is to only eat food that came from within 100 miles of where you live.
• Lumberjacks go underwater. Mr. Designer found an article about the Sawfish, an underwater chainsaw that operates by remote control. It is being used to cut down underwater forests created by the flooding that occurs when new hydroelectric dams are built.
• Shoo flea! When Becky moved into her new apartment, she quickly learned it had fleas. To stop the bites, she recommends taking garlic capsules.
• Vegetarians are crossing over. As organic and free-range meats have become more widely available, some vegetarians are giving meat a chance. Tom found an article on the BBC about some of the vegetarians experiencing a change of heart.
• Ahead of the curve. According to an article sent to us by Dee entitled "Big business is already acting on the climate threat and waiting for Washington to catch up". As businesses seek to adapt to the impact of climate change, Washington seems to be taking the 'let's sit back and see what happens' approach.

Email us at hip@greenfeet.com. Don't forget to vote for us at podcastalley.com and podcastpickle.com. Send us a voice message at our Skype address "morehip" or +1 530.554.2605. Don't have Skype ? Get it - it's free!